The 73rd Hunger Games
by oclanahan
Summary: Fifteen year old Aris from District Five is reaped and must compete in the 73rd Hunger Games. He is up against some extremely tough competition. Will he make it out alive?
1. The Bloodbath

Chapter 1: The Bloodbath

"Good luck Aris!" my stylist says, "You can do this!" She smiles and hugs me before I step onto the plate.

"Thank you." I say quietly. I never liked my stylist too much. The glass slides around me and the only thing I can hear is my heartbeat. I am breathing heavily and sweating. I could die in the next minute or so. The plate begins to rise upwards towards the arena. I am on an elevator to my death. The only way I will survive is if I somehow form an alliance with the stronger tributes. Being only fifteen, I don't have great chance of surviving.

I can see light now. The arena comes into view. A dense rainforest surrounds the twenty-four tributes. Tall trees everywhere, and I can already hear the insects buzzing. The shining cornucopia sits in the middle of the ring, overflowing with supplies, food, and weapons. I scan the tributes looking for Karrie, my district partner, but I can't see her. To my right is the boy from District 9, and to my left is the girl from One named Opal. The horn must be blocking my view from seeing Karrie.

I spot a backpack about twenty yards away from me. I make my final decision, I will get that bag and then immediately turn and run into the rainforest. The countdown begins. I prepare to jump off my pedestal when the gong sounds. The rainforest is alive with odd and foreign sounds. I can only imagine what kind of mutts could be hiding in there. While thinking about this, I hear an explosion. I turn to see smoke rising from behind the cornucopia. Someone must have stepped off the pedestal. And then I remember that Karrie was one of the tributes who I could not see because of the cornucopia. Karrie could be dead already, and the games haven't even started. The thought of her being dead already pains me. Even though I didn't know her very well, she was the only person I had to talk to while in the Capitol.

Ten seconds after that explosion, the gong finally sounds. I have a delayed reaction. The tributes all jump off their pedestals and either head for the forest or the bloodbath. I run towards that bag and get my hands on it. I don't bother to look inside. Right when I am about to turn around, the boy from District 6, Owain, tackles me. He has a knife. He pins me down and tries to stab at my neck. I dodge the first few attempts, but on his fourth try he manages to slice my forehead. I scream and blood starts to drip down my face. Owain is raising his knife to stab one more time and I know I am done for. But I don't die yet. Owain collapses onto me. Blood drips out of his mouth. I quickly push him off wondering what happened. I look around quickly and see the boy from District 2, Apostolos, raising another knife to throw at me. He saved my life, but is now going to take it away.

I don't have a lot of time to think so I push up Owain's limp body kind of like a shield. Apostolos's knife implants itself into Owain's back just as the previous one did. I quickly rip a knife and run away from Apostolos into the rainforest, He doesn't try to pursue me.

I run like I have never run before. Blood covers my face but that doesn't stop me. The screams from the bloodbath finally fade as I run further away from that awful place. I find a game trail and follow that for about ten minutes. I need to stop and bandage my forehead. Luckily, I find a stream and I am able to wash all the blood off my face. I quickly rip open my backpack curious to find out what is inside. I find a water bottle, some dried beef strips, crackers, dried fruit, bandages,matches, and a list of all the tributes in the arena. I say a silent "Thank you." Under my breath. I bandage my forehead and fill the water bottle. The water looks very clear and clean. But if this is the only source of water in the arena, the games will end fast.

I put everything back into my backpack and pick up my knife. I break out into another jog and follow the game trail for another ten minutes. I am running when I hear the first cannon. The bloodbath must be over. I count the cannons, "one, two, three...eight, nine." nine of us are dead already which leaves fourteen of us left. I begin to walk, knowing there is still a long time until night. I focus on looking for a source of food. There are tons of odd fruits hanging from trees, but I'm not sure if they are safe to eat. I see many lizards and animals run across the rainforest floor. It is pretty dark. The trees block most of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor. I feel like it is dusk, even though it is only almost noon.

I notice a giant gray cloud drifting over head. I hear thunder and see lightning and know rain must be coming. I continue walking deeper into the dark forest. I have no clue where I am going. I just walk. I begin to think about whether Karrie is alive or not, but I quickly distract myself by studying the list of all the tributes. I hope that at least one of the careers died at the bloodbath. The career pack is strong and big this year. They all scored nines and tens in training, and I only got a 6. The only skill I was able to show the gamemakers was my strength and speed. I practiced using a knife and a sword in training, but I am not good at them. I remember watching the District 3 tributes build complex traps using wires and electricity. They both scored sevens.

I hated my time in the Capitol, the people are rude and arrogant, and their lifestyle is sick. My stylist was annoying and ungrateful and I felt like a puppet being controlled and poked at when I first arrived. I remember not even being looked at during the tribute parade. Karrie and I were not admired at all. We were just another pair of tributes that were overlooked. During my interview with the new host Caesar Flickerman, I was barely even given any applause while entering the stage and leaving it. These are the things that make me want to win these games. I want to show the Capitol that I have what it takes to be a victor, and I want to show them the mistake they made by overlooking me. I realize that if I try hard enough, I might have a chance.

I hear a rustle nearby in a bush filled with round, purple berries. The rain begins to come down after this in a light drizzle. It becomes even darker in the rainforest with the clouds and trees blocking out the light. I continue studying the bush. I hear the rustle again and the bush moves. I finally realize there is nothing on the bush, but the bush itself is moving. The branches coming off the stem of the bush can move freely. I crawl closer on my knees to the bush. The branches reach out for me like long, thin fingers. I flinch a little, but then move closer again. That's when it happens.

A cannon fires and the plant latches onto my left wrist. MY knife is in my right hand so I react quickly and cut the plant off me. I move backwards on my hands and knees from the plant. The plant isn't done yet though. It seems to grow in a matter of seconds and wrap its long branches around my legs. It pulls me towards it and I struggle to get away. I manage to cut off the branches from my left foot. I grab a root in the ground to stop myself from being pulled towards the plant. I find out this plant does a lot more than grab you. The purple berries begin bursting. The insides of the berries fly through the air and land on my skin. It burns so bad I scream. I have to get away quickly. I try to cut my right leg free, but the plant grabs my right hand along with my knife.

I'm going to die from a plant. What a lame way to lose the Hunger Games. The berry juice still burns. I feel like arm is on fire. Then I remember. "fire" I manage to open my backpack while fighting with this stupid plant. I grab the matches and light one using only on hand. It takes a couple of tries but I manage to do it. I put the flame on the branches of the bush grabbing my wrist. The fingers instantly retreat away from the flame. I move it near my feet next and the match works the same way. I am finally safe. The plant returns back to its original state. I pick myself up from out of the mud and run away from the plant. I am covered in scratches and mud. I run for about a minute having no clue where I'm going.

I fall back against a tree and rest in the rain. I drink some water falling from the sky and eat some dried fruit. The rain begins to come down harder. I need shelter or I will have to deal with more of these damn plants tonight. I get up and begin walking again. It must almost be night time by now. I follow the same game trail for about twenty minutes before I branch off and look for a cave or something. I don't find a cave, but I find a hole that is partially under a tree and its roots. I climb down into it and lie down. I look at my skin where the berry juice burned it. It left several burn marks around my arm.

The rain calms down and the thunder and lightning stop. I peek out from under the tree to watch the sky for the anthem. Five minutes later, it begins. The first face to come up is the girl from 3, Ray. This means that all the tributes from One and Two are alive. The next tribute in the sky saddens me. It is Karrie, she probably was the one who exploded before the games started. Next comes both the tributes from Six. Hunter from 7, and Ina from 8 are next. The girl from 9 is gone also. Both the tributes from Ten are dead. The last face in the sky is Chikere from Twelve. My only friend in the games is dead. I'm sad, but I do not cry. I do not show any emotion. At least she had a quick death

There are fourteen tributes left in the games, and I am one of them. I smile while I crawl back under the tree. I re-bandage my forehead and drink some water. I realize how hungry I am and I eat some dried beef. Sleep seems to come after an hour. I finally drift off thinking of the possibility of winning. _14 tributes remain._


	2. The Falls

Chapter 2: The Falls

I awake in the same place I fell asleep. I take out my bottle of water and drink the rest of it. I immediately regret doing it though. I know it will probably be hard to find water unless I go back to that stream, or wait for more rain. I eat a small meal consisting of crackers and dried beef. I am very hungry, but I know I shouldn't eat all my food supply. I need to find a steady source of food to sustain me for the rest of the games.

I crawl out of the hole and start thinking about food and water. I decide to look for water first. I begin walking away from the tree I slept under, but I make sure I walk away from the cornucopia. The rainforest seems more alive today. I see small mammals scurrying across the forest floor, insects fly through the air, and other small bugs crawling across tree branches. I am bitten numerous times by small small insects, but luckily they only cause small pinkish bumps and some itching. Sunlight filters through tree branches causing some places to be dark, and others to be light. I am admiring the creatures of the rainforest when I begin to hear running water.

I listen carefully and begin to move closer to the noise. The ground begins to become rocky and the noise is getting louder. What I see next is incredible, I walk slowly with my mouth open in awe. The ground suddenly drops into a rocky cliff. Fifty feet below is a river. My eyes follow the river and lead me too the sight of a giant waterfall. It is nearly two hundred feet tall. It is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life. A smile reaches my lips but quickly diminishes. I have no way of getting down this cliff to the water below.

I decide to walk towards the water fall. Maybe I can catch some of the water in my bottle. I walk along the edge of the cliff keeping my eye out for danger. Birds fly overhead and I can't stop thinking about how I feel like I am in a different world. As I get closer, I notice that a bridge spans the gap between me and the other side of the cliff. I pass the ridge because it looks a little bit risky to cross. I keep walking for another two minutes and I reach the waterfall. I find a spot where water ricochets off a rock and onto the side of the cliff. I take out my water bottle and begin to fill it up.

Right when I'm finishing up I see something that makes me freeze in place. Two tributes are crossing that old looking bridge that I passed earlier. I quickly crouch down behind a small tree. I don't recognize the two tributes, but I can tell they are both guys. The are only halfway across the bridge when I spot a third tribute. I can tell who this one is. Their dark skin gives them away. It is most likely Marek from Eleven. Marek quietly sneaks out of the jungle and gets to the start of the bridge. He pulls out a knife and begins sawing through the ropes at the base of the bridge. He gets through one of the supports and the bridge tilts slightly. The two tributes turn to see what Marek is doing. They spot him and begin running. They aren't fast enough though. Marek easily gets through the next rope in seconds. I can't believe what I'm seeing.

The bridge collapses from one side. The two tributes try to hold on, but the bridge swings and smacks into the hard, rocky side of the cliff. I hear screams from them as they fall off the bridge and into the raging river below. I don't see them come back up from under the water. A cannon fires about 30 seconds later, and then shortly after, a second cannon goes off. Marek runs back into the rainforest. I slowly walk away from the waterfall and back into the rainforest to get as far from Marek as possible.

I jog through the the rainforest and find a tree to rest under. Nearby, I find another small stream that I guess leads to the water fall. I look into it and see my reflection for the first time in two days. My blond hair looks brown from mud, and the bags under my green eyes are extremely noticeable. I realize I need to change the bandages on my forehead. I slowly peel off the mud caked white bandages and examine the gash on my forehead. It surprisingly has closed up and there is now just a long scab.

I put my face into the cool, clear stream. I wash the dried mud off my face, and then wash my clothes. I do it quickly though. I strip down to my undershirt and underwear not caring that I'm on live television at the moment. There are probably more exciting things happening than a teenage boy taking off his clothes. I wade into the stream and sit in the shallow water. I scrub myself clean with water until I get all of the dirt and blood off me. I then take my clothes and dunk them in the water to get the mud off those too.

I walk out of the stream and hang the my wet black shirt and pants on a low tree branch. I sit down on a log and drink water and eat dried fruit. I think about the two tributes that fell in the river and realize that Marek saved my life. If Marek would'nt have cut down that bridge. Those two boys could have seen me when they got across and killed me. I silently thank Marek for that. I make a note myself to not cross any bridges for the rest of the games.

Judging on where the sun is, I'm guessing it is proababy around four o'clock. I sit on this log for about another hour and then finally put my clothes back on. I put everything back into my dark green backpack and put my boots back on. I slowly walk along the stream with my knife in my right hand. I walk for five minutes until I finally spot a fish swimming up the stream towards me. I freeze in place and prepare to stab it when it comes near me. The fish is only about four feet away and continues to slowly swim towards me. I get ready to stab. The fish is right in front of me. I raise my knife into the air and swing it down onto the fish. Luckily, I spear the fish. It thrashes around on my knife as I pull it out of the water. I hold it down onto a neraby flat rock, and wait for it to stop moving.

I don't want to eat raw fish for dinner, so I decide to try and make a fire. I pull out my matches and look around for some dry sticks. I find some small twigs and go back to the edge of the stream. I set the twigs on the ground and use thee matches to start a fire. I put the flame onto one of the twigs and it ignites along with all the other ones. I don't know how to correctly skin a fish so I decide to just stab a stick through the fish and hold it over the fire. I blow on the fire to keep it going longer and it holds out long enough for me to cook the fish.

When the fish is done cooking, I bring it back that rock and peel the skin off. I just grab the meat out of its insides with my fingers and shove it into my mouth. It tastes amazing after eating fried fruit and crackers for two days. The fish fills me up and by the time I am finished the sun is going down. I stomp out my fire and scatter all the sticks to hide evidence that I was here. I throw the fish remains in the water and begin looking for a place to sleep.

I walk away from the stream and into the forest. Sounds of night begin to fill my ears. I find something similar to what I slept in the first night. A fallen tree and some rocks create this cave like structure. I crawl under and rest. The anthem plays ten minutes later. I am anxious to see who fell off that bridge earlier today. The first face I see in the sky is the boy from District 8. I check my list of tributes and his name was Zeno. Zeno's face dissapears and then the boy from Nine is in the sky. His name was Mykolas. Now that I think of it, I remember seeing these two talk during training. They must have decided to form an alliance before the games.

The anthem ends and I crawl under my shelter. I drink a little bit of water before I lay down and try to fall asleep. I hear thunder and know rain must be coming. I am right, the rain comes down hard. It calms me because I know that no tributes will be hunting at night in the rain. I fall asleep easily with the thought of victory in my mind.

I dream of what happened from the reaping up until I got on the train. The dream starts with me standing in the crowd at the reaping. I am standing next to my friend Hunter. We both stare at the escort from the Capitol as she reads the name of the female tribute. Karrie walks up to the stage staring at the ground. The escort moves over to the bowl filled with the boys names. She reaches her hand in the bowl and picks a slip of paper from the bottom of the bowl. She says my name, "Aris." Hunter turns to me with a surprised look. I walk slowly. As I pass Hunter I tell him. "Come see me in the Justice Hall." "I will." he says quietly.

I walk up to the stage and Karrie and I shake hands. We are pushed into the Justice Hall and peacekeepers escort me to a room. I sit on a couch in the room and wait for people to come and say goodbye. The door opens and Hunter walks in.

"I can't believe this is happening, you only had your name in four times." He sits down next to me.

"I'm gonna die."

"No you're not, you can win. You're smart and quick."

"But I'm up against kids that have trained their whole lives."

"That doesn't matter though, the careers are always arrogant. You got this."

"Thanks." I say, "I'll try."

"Good luck." Hunter says. We exchange a brief hug and he begins to walk out of the room. "I'll see you in two months or so." He says. I don't say anything back. My family doesn't even come to say goodbye. A few other friends stop by, but thats it. Before I know it, I'm on my way to the Capitol. _12 tributes remain._


	3. Vulnerable

I wake up and it is still raining, only lightly though. I peak out of my small shelter and look for any kind of danger. I don't see anything so I slowly crawl out from my shelter and stand up. I take my knife out of my backpack and begin to search for breakfast. I slowly walk outwards in a spiral away from where I awoke. I spot a birds nest up in a tree and I see eggs in it too. The tree has very low branches so it is very easy to climb. I begin to climb up the tree, being careful not to slip off the wet, rubbery branches. I reach the nest and pull the four eggs out of it. I place them carefully in the deep pockets of my pants, and begin to climb back down the tree.

I stop halfway down though. The rain is fading away and I see three tributes walking around near my shelter. I know who they are. Marek and Euterpe, both the District Eleven tributes, along with Emem, the boy from District Twelve. I hear them talking now that the rain has stopped. Emem speaks first.

"We need to get away them. They're a lot stronger than we are. They are following our trail."

"They already killed Chikere, you're right. We need to get away from them. They are probably getting closer by the second." says Euterpe.

"Maybe we should run to the cornucopia," says Marek. "If the careers are following us then they won't be at the cornucopia. There is still supplies and weapons there."

"That sounds good," says Euterpe. "We should go now." Right after she say this. An arrow comes out of nowhere and flies through Euterpe's neck. She falls to the ground and Marek and Emem frantically look around to find the assailant. A cannon fires and a knife flies past Emem's head.

"We gotta run!" says Emem.

"Hold on," says Marek. "I gotta get her bag. Go! I'll catch up!" Emem waits anyways and dodges another arrow. I finally see who is shooting at the group that I decide to call the Outliers. The Careers are hiding behind trees and bushes shooting at the two boys. All six careers are here. Emem and Marek finally start to run, and that is when all of the careers begin to run after them. The careers run right past my tree without noticing me. I see the girl from Four named Adipose has the bow. So she is probably the one that killed Euterpe. I see the hovercraft pick up Euterpe's lifeless body.

I sit in silence waiting for the noises of the tributes to go away. When I'm sure the tributes are gone. I quickly climb down the tree. I slip on the way down and fall on my side. Luckily, I didn't land on the eggs I just collected. I am a bit stunned from the fall, but I run as fast as I can in the opposite direction. I dont stop for another two minutes. My heartbeat finally begins to slow down. I stop and kneel down. I wont have a way to cook these eggs so I know I must eat them raw. I'm already starving and I don't want to starve to death. I crack the first egg open and let it drip into my mouth. I swallow the yolk and everything else whole. It slides right down my throat and I almost throw it back up. I stop myself though. I know I have to eat these eggs to stay alive. I do the same thing with the rest of the three. They taste terrible but fill me up.

I finish the rest of the water in my bottle and decide to go to the stream to collect more. On my way there, I can't stop thinking about what I just saw. I realize how lucky I was to not be seen so open in that tree. The careers nearly passed right under me. I wonder if Marek and Emem will make it away from them. I know for the rest of the games the Outliers will be planning some type of revenge on the Careers.

I make it to the stream, and judging by the look of the sky, I don't think it will rain today. I put my water bottle under the water and let it fill up with the crystal clear water. I drink it all and then fill it up again. I'm glad this arena has water, because based on past hunger games. Dehydration is a huge cause of death. I remember watching the games four years ago. By the fifth day of the games. Six tributes had died of dehydration. The arena was like a forest overrun by a desert.

I feel vulnerable in the place where I have been survivng. I have already seen eleven tributes around this area. I feel like I should travel to the other side of the arena to get away from all of this. I sit on a rock by the stream thinking about this. I realize how silent it becomes, usually the sounds of insects make the rainforest loud and somewhat annoying. I look around for signs of life, but see none. I ignore it and think that maybe the gamemakers decided to shut them up for awhile. But I realize they are planning something completely different. The first tree catches me by surprise.

I am sitting on the rock drinking water when the tree lands nearly five feet from me. It is so loud I feel the ground shake. I immediately throw my water bottle into my bag and begin to run. Trees begin to fall around me. I know this must be a plan by the gamemakers. I continue to run dodging the falling trees. I trip over a tree root and hit the ground hard. My knife falls out of my hand and slides away from me. I'm about to get up when I notice a tree about to land right on top of me. I roll over to the left and the tree lands two feet away from me. I go for my knife again but I am stopped by another tree. I stay in the same place and watch as a tree lands on top of my knife. I know I will never be able to lift that tree to get my knife.

I get up and continue running towards. I realize I am running closer to the cornucopia but I don't care at the moment because I might die from a tree anyways. The falling trees aren't the only show the gamemakers want to put on. The first boulder lands far from me but surprises me. Boulders three times my size are bring shot at me. The second one hits a tree trunk and I watch as the tree splinter in half and falls. I jump over the fallen tree that blocked my path and continue running. The boulders begin to get faster. The third one hits the ground and makes an impact crater. It lands right in front of me and I am knocked over by the shockwave of the boulder making impact with the ground. While on the ground, I look up and notice a tree falling. I roll to the right and hear it slam into the ground right next to me. I get up again and sprint. Another boulder flies into a neabry tree, nearly shattering the trunk to small toothpick sized twigs. About three of these small pieces of wood fly trough the air and implant themselves in my skin. It hurts, but it's definetely not as bad as the burning berries.

No more boulders hit the ground near me, but I can hear impacts from far away. The tree begin to stop falling and I think I am at peace. I slow down to a jog, and eventually begin walking. That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life. I am drenched in sweat and my feet hurt badly. I realize that I still haven't pulled out the pieces of wood from my skin.

I sit down and lean against a tree. The three pieces of wood stick out of my skin. Just touching them makes my whole arm throb. I grab the one closest to my hand and begin to pull it out. My skin is pulled outwards as I pull it out. I shut my eyes and clench my jaw as I finish pulling it out. When I'm finished, blood spurts out from the hole that is left from the wood. I do the same thing with the other two pieces and bandage the wounds up.

It is probably about three o'clock. I don't have a lot of energy so I sit under this tree; I drink water and eat food from my pack. Two hours pass so I decide to get up and start walking again. I don't see any clouds in the sky so I don't think it will rain tonight. I think about the remaining tributes. I start with District One. Both the tributes remain, Opal and Naevius. Opal received a ten in training and Naevius got a nine. The District 2 tributes are both alive too. They are Apostolos and Anne. They both got tens as training scores. One tribute from Three remains and that is Volt. Both tributes from four alive and they both revieved nines in training. There is me from Five. Six is already out of the games. From Seven, there is a girl named Beckah. I think she only got a five in training. Districts Eight, Nine, and Ten are also out of the games. Marek is still alive from Ten, and Emem is alive from Twelve. Eleven of us remain, and the chances of me coming out of these games alive is increasing.

It is probably around six o'clock when I find a place to sleep for the night. I find a small cave and crawl in to stay for the night. I finish off my water supply and decide to finish my crackers. The anthem plays and I don't bother to crawl out because I know Euterpe was the only one to die today. The anthem finishes and I close my eyes and fall asleep only minutes later.

I wake up and it is still slightly dark outside. I stay in the cave for an hour before I crawl out and stand up. I stretch my legs and arms and look around for any danger. I see none, but the arena seems a lot colder today. The gamemakers are probably messing with the temperatures. The change is easy to get used to, it feels great compared to the hot temperatures from the past three days. I begin walking towards the cornucopia hoping the Careers won't be there. I examine the holes in my arms from the tree shrapnel. Only one of them has closed. I take the bandage off that one and buyr it in the ground.

It only takes me an hour to reach the area where the games began. I peer out from behind the trees and stare at the cornucopia. I don't see anyone there, but tributes could be nearby. There is still tons of weapons and supplies sitting at the mouth of the horn. I need a better weapon and more food and water. I decide to run for it. I sprint out of the rainforest and on to the open plain where the cornucopia sits. It is only a fifteen second run. I make it to the horn and look around quickly for a weapon I could use. I see a sword and quickly pick it up, it feels perfect in my hand. I see a bigger backpack that is black. I decide to grab that. I kneel down and take everything out of my current pack and transport it to the new one. I grab more food and throw it into my new pack and grab a few small knives. I find rope which I grab, and socks. I still have a lot more room for extra stuff so I grab more bandages and a big knife that would be useful for cutting branches. My heart is pounding while I do this. The fear of a tribute coming is huge.

I finally finish putting everything in the pack so I run back into the rainforest. I don't run to the side of the arena I have been in for the past three days though. I run the other way hoping there won't be as many tributes in this area. I keep running as far from the cornucopia as possible. I already notice the difference in this side of the arena, there are not as many trees, but the trees are much taller. It is not as dark as the other side of the arena. I slow down to a jog for five minutes but stop when water begins to splash under my feet. I realize that I was beginning to run into some type of swamp. I stop and look ahead. The trees look like they disappear completely about fifty feet ahead. I wade through the shallow water that only comes up to my knees. I see why the trees stop, a huge lake is in front of me. A small island sits in the middle of this huge lake.

My eyes follow the shoreline of the lake and I see a sandy beach on the other side. I decide to make my way to the beach. I wade my way out of this miniature swamp and begin to walk around the lake. I eat dried beef on my way there. It is a pretty long walk to the beach. I reach it by three o'clock and sit down in the hot sand. I take out my two water bottles and and fill them with water from the lake. The water is extremely clear, I can see bright colored fish swimming in the shallow water. I chug both bottle of the freshwater and fill the bottles up again. I put one of the bottles back in my pack but continue to sip out of the other one.

I sit on the beach until night comes. I lay my sword down next to me in the white sand and listen to the anthem play. No tributes died today, the Capitol will be getting bored and the gamemakers will probably do something to make the games more exciting. The anthem plays and I notice another drop in the temperature while I fall asleep. All I can think of, is the fact that I am still alive. _11 tributes remain._


	4. The Enemies

I wake up shivering from the cold. The temperature has dropped even more. I realize how vulnerable I was sleeping on the beach. I jump a little when the parachute lands in front me. My first gift from a sponsor has finally came. I wonder what is inside the small silver container. I open it up and inside is a rolled up piece of paper. I quickly pull it out and unravel it. I flatten it out in the sand and smile at what the paper is. A map of the arena sits before me. I study it, tracing my path from the beginning of the games. When the games started, I ran south. The waterfall I saw was very close to the forcefield. If I would have climbed to the top of the top of that water fall and walked a mile, I would've hit the forcefield. I see the small streams I followed and then see where I ran when attacked by falling trees and flying boulders. I follow my path to the lake. The lake is in the north side of the arena, about halfway in between the forcefield and the cornucopia. The lake flows into a river that comes out of the west side of the lake. The river flows and curves around the west side of the arena all that way to the south side where the waterfall is. In the east side of the arena, there is a chain of mountains that stretch from the southeast to the northeast. The arena is twenty miles wide, and twenty miles long, a perfect circle.

I study the map and decide to head to a region that is a little bit southeat of me. It looks as if it is filled with big, pointed rocks and a lot of smaller trees. I get up off the ground and pick up my sword. I walk away from the beach and into the rainforest. The sun is just rising over the horizon. I walk slowly through the trees. The rocky area I'm looking for is only two miles away. I find an apple in my pack and eat it on the way. One isn't enough so I eat two more. I sip water and eat some crackers after the apples. I see the first rock after forty minutes of walking. I look from the base of the rock, all the way to the top. The base is probably about ten feet wide. It gets thinner as it gets taller. At the top of the rock, there is a small flat area large enough for maybe two people to sit on. Around this rock, are these large mounds of dirt. Holes of different sizes dot the mounds.

Vines cascade down the sides of the rock. If I were to climb certain trees, I would be able to get to the top of that rock. I sit down for a couple minutes and organize my pack. I am just about to zip the backpack up when I hear the voices.

"Look!" One of them says. "He is over there!" I know it must be a group. I frantically look around for them. Behind me, the way I came here, are the careers. They are still pretty far away and I have time to react. My heart begins to beat faster and faster. I decide to get ontop of the rock. At first I try to use the vines but I slip and fall. The careers are getting closer though and I must get away. I run around behind the rock and climb up a tree that would let me get onto the flat area on top of the rock.

I climb as fast as I ever have in my life. The careers are only a hundred feet away now.

"Get him!" says one of them.

"He's mine to kill, leave it to me!" An arrow lodges itself right next to me into the tree stump. I am more scared than I ever have been in the games. I could die, that arrow was the closest thing to killing me yet. I hope the cameras can't tell how scared I am right now.

I make it to where the top of the rock is at the same level as the tree. I move away from the trunk of the tree on one of its branches. I jump from the tree and onto the rock. Thankfully, I land safely. I know that one of them will try to pursue me. I realize how trapped I am right now. I should've just ran away. Then I realize something worse. I left my sword down below where the careers are. I quickly yank open my pack and take out the large knife I found at the cornucopia. I look down over the edge of the rock and all the careers are looking up at me. Apostolos tries to throw a knife, but it flies way past me.

Some of them laugh at how bad the throw was, and I force a laugh also.

"Let's just wait him out, hes gotta come down eventually." says Naevius.

"Sounds alright to me." says Anne, the girl from Two.

"Someone make a fire."

Four hours pass. I am freezing cold even though the Sun is directly overhead right now. Adipose, the girl from Four, starts to climb up the rock using the vines. I have an idea to cut the vines when she is almost at the top. I wait. After a minute she is halfway up. I can tell she is struggling to keep climbing. Another thirty seconds pass. She is two-thirds of the way up. I know the time is now or never. I begin to cut through the vines she is holding onto. I make it through the first two easily and she is left hanging onto one vine. She is screaming for help and I feel terrible for what I am about to do. I begin to cut through the final vine. Another arrow almost hits me but I try to look like it didn't phase me at all. It is hard to use the knife when my fingers are this cold.

Adipose barely makes any progress getting down. Before I finish sawing through the vine, I look down at her and say, "I'm sorry." The vine splits apart. She screams while falling sixty feet to the ground below. She falls into one of the mounds of dirt I saw before I climbed up here. The biggest surprise of the entire games happens now. When Adipose lands in this mound of dirt. Huge flying, red ants erupt from the mound in every direction. They immediatelty are on Adipose. She is probably unconcious from that fall. A cannon fires only seconds later. The ants attack the others. They scream and begin to run. "To the lake!" one of them shouts. "Get to the lake."

One of them isn't too lucky. Anne is covered in the giant ants. She screams and writhes on the ground, trying to get them off. Nobody tries to help her they just run. The remaining ants fly after the running careers. Most of the are biting Anne. She is no longer screaming though. She is probably on the verge of death. I look over at Adipose's body. She is unrecognizable. The ants devoured her. She looks like a chunk of meat with brown hair. A cannon fires representing Anne's death. The ants fly off her body and back into there mounds. I am shocked. I just killed two tributes. The fact that they were careers amazes me. I am relieved that there are now two less careers to deal with, but I feel terrible. I took the lives of two kids today. My first two kills of the game. I will probably be getting more sponsors by now.

The hovercraft appears overhead and picks up Anne and Adipose. Before Anne is sucked into the hovercraft I see she looks the same way as Adipsoe. Her red hair hangs down from the sky towards the ground. That is the last I see of the two girls. The hovercraft dissapears. I am left alone at the top of the rock shivering and on the verge of tears. I don't cry though. I have to look tough for the cameras. I climb down the tree and quickly run and pick up my sword which was untouched. I begin to run in the opposite direction. I trip and fall in Adipose's blood. I quickly get up though and run through the tall grey rocks. I don't stop until I am positive the careers won't find me. I know they will be looking for me after they recover from what just happened.

I fall down to the ground and rub my hands together to try and and keep my finger warm and fully functionable. I am starving and thirsty. I decide before I eat that I will to climb to the top of one of the rocks again. I feel safe on top of the rocks after what just happened. I could make a fire up there and no tributes would be able to see me. I don't dare take the vines up the rock after what just happened. I look around for a tall tree that gives me access to the top of the rock. I find one close by. I begin climbing the tree as fast as I can. I have trouble gripping the branches and I end up slipping and falling six feet down before hitting a few branches that stop my fall.I scramble back up the tree and eventually make it to the top of the rock. I sit down and open up my pack. I realize that I'm going to need wood to make a fire. I saw off branches from the nearby trees around me and use them to start the fire. I take out my matches and light one of the branches and it easily ignites. I throw the other branches over it and I soon have a decent sized fire that provides enough warmth for me. I warm my hands and then take out my list of the tributes.

Now that Anne and Adipose are dead, there are nine tributes remaining. Naevius and Opal from One, Apostolos from Two, Volt from Three, Alevin from Four, Beckah from Seven, Marek and Emem, and me.

The careers are down to four now. Marek and Emem are probably still in an alliance, and I assume Beckah, Volt, and I are all on our own.

I sit and rest by the fire waiting for night to come. I keep careful watch for the careers. I know they will be coming back sometime. I open my pack to get some food and realize I only have three crackers left. I finish them off and make note to find more food tomorrow. I drink some water and then lay down on my back, watching the sky. I notice the clouds are dark. And that means rain is coming. If the temperature is this low in the arena, I'm sure the rain will be cold too. I close my eyes and wait for the first drops of rain to hit my skin. Five minutes later, I feel the first one. I sigh in relief when I find out the rain is warm. I close my eyes and finally rest for the first time today.

I wake up two hours later and it is still raining. I fill up my water bottle with the warm rain water and put it inside my pack. I don't see the sun through the canopy of the trees so it must be close to night time. The rain begins to lighten up as the sky gets darker. I look up into the sky when the anthem begins to play. The only faces I see are Anna and Adipose's. Nine tributes remain, and I don't expect many deaths in the next couple of days. I fall asleep still basking in the warm rain. _9 tributes remain._


End file.
